Arms Around You
by LaraRae
Summary: A simple errand run for Kirsten turns in to a life or death situation for Seth and Ryan. Complete, believe it or not.
1. The Brother

Disclaimer: stands up> Hi. My name is Rae and I'm an O.C. addict... and I'm finally read to admit that... I don't own anything to do with The O.C. and probably never will..... it's all Josh's. Hopefully, with the help of you wonderful reviewers.. I can get past this!

Thanks guys, enjoy! R&R

**Arms Around You**

Chapter One

Ryan emerged from the pool-house dressed in his typical jeans and wife-beater combo, playing with the wide leather strap around his wrist and stifling a yawn.

He could already feel the heat of the day coming on, thanks to the eternal sunshine of the California coast. He was sure it hadn't rained more than a few days out of his entire stay here so far.

Four months, he thought. That was how long he'd been living with the Cohens. It didn't seem like that long, but when he actually thought about all that had happened in those four months, since Sandy had originally taken him home, it was a lot to wrap his mind around.

Instead of a dumpy house living with his alcoholic and drug addicted mother, as well as her boyfriends, he was now living in a pool-house. Adjoined to Sandy and Kirsten's property, overlooking a beach.

He had people who cared about him, instead of people who sent him on drug runs or beat him.

He had Seth, a real friend, an almost-brother. He had more of a relationship with Seth than him and Trey had ever had together.

And he had a girlfriend, instead of what ever Theresa and him had had. On and off, mostly off, relationship.

He lived in a pool-house. The thought entered his mind again, and he smiled widely, pushing away another yawn.

Ryan slowly shuffled his way to the back door, through it and in to the kitchen where, to his surprise, the rest of the household was waiting for him.

Seth was slumped over and supporting himself with his hands, while trying to read today's Arts and Leisure section.

Kirsten was leaning sleepily against the counter, sipping coffee from her mug.

And Sandy was sitting on a stool, staring dazedly in to thin air.

"Morning" Ryan greeted, noticing Seth jump and Sandy snap to attention.

"Good morning Ryan!" Kirsten welcomed him cheerfully, he squinted at her. "Coffee?" she asked.

"Yea, thanks" he replied, looking around the kitchen again. What were they doing up? They never got up on weekends before the clock hit nine, and that was an early day for them.

"Uh, did I miss something?" he asked Kirsten, the only responsive one, when she handed him his coffee.

"No" she replied quickly. A little too quickly.

"Did… something happen?" he asked, glancing at Seth whose head was slowly sinking lower in to the paper.

"No. Why?" Kirsten asked, he noticed the red tinge to her cheeks. Embarrassment? He wondered.

"Uh. It's Saturday" he pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh huh."

"Saturday morning" he added.

Sandy snorted, "Don't remind us".

Kirsten paused to shoot her husband a glare, before returning to smile at Ryan.

"You guys are never up this early… on a Saturday"

A small sound escaped Sandy's throat, and Kirsten sent him another glare. Suddenly Ryan got it, a smile stretched across his tired face.

"You didn't have to all get up on account of me" Ryan told them.

"Thank god!" Seth interrupted, pulling himself up from the stool, "It's too early-"

"Sit down!" Kirsten demanded, "We're going to have a nice family breakfast and you're all going to like it!"

"But mom!" Seth whined, "Sleep"

"Honey.." Sandy joined in, "Surfing.."

Kirsten set her cup down and crossed her arms.

Ryan began to chuckle, and a smile finally pulled at the corners of Kirsten's mouth. "Fine, but we're all eating dinner tonight. Together!" she told them sternly.

"Thanks hon" Sandy told her, kissing her quick on the cheek and running off to change and grab his board.

Seth mumbled something unintelligible and stumbled out of the kitchen, leaving Kirsten trying to hide behind her coffee cup.

"You get an A for effort" Ryan finally broke the tense silence, a smile crossing his lips. Kirsten sent him a fake glare until her eyes widened.

"Oh. There's mail here for you" she said, setting her cup down again and beginning to dig through the pile on the counter. She finally emerged, successful, and handed a long white envelope to Ryan.

He took it and looked down at it and tore it open, eyes quickly skimming it. He set it on the counter, "Just a bank statement" he told her.

"Right. About that. When did you even get an account?" she asked.

"Uhm, when I started working at the Crab Shack. Thought I'd save up and help out" he shrugged.

"Help out?"

"Buy clothes and… that"

"You don't have to do that Ryan. You're not a burden, you know. You demanded a lot less than Seth ever does. " She thought for a moment, "I don't think you've ever even demanded anything.."

"Don't need anything" he offered a smile.

Kirsten put her hands on her hips, "You know what, Ryan? You should invest that money. Save it for a rainy day or something."

"Invest?" Ryan snorted, "It's hardly anything"

"Depending on how you do it, there's no minimum Ryan. Really, I'll take you to the bank sometime, we'll talk to an advisor and figure it out. Maybe get a college fund started for you.."

College? Ryan wanted to ask, but stopped himself. Ryan Atwood. In College. He smiled.

"Okay" he finally relented.

…………………………………………

"So Ryan, I called Allen at the bank, he takes care of most of my transactions, and he said he could see us both on Tuesday, after school. Is that okay with you?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah. Sure" he was still trying to decide if he should try and keep some of it available instead of wrapped up in investments.

Seth studied the exchange between his mother and Ryan, a forkful of Lo Mien half way to his mouth. "How come Ryan has money?" he asked.

"Because I work, Seth" Ryan teased.

Seth shot him a sarcastic smile.

"And he doesn't spend it all on comic books" Kirsten put in.

"Uhm. Mom. Number one, they are called _Graphic Novels_, and number two, it really is a shame that Ryan doesn't spend his teenage years wasting money with me."

"You wouldn't waste it so much if you worked for it, would you?" Sandy asked, eyeing his son.

Seth dropped his fork, "Dad" he whispered, a look of fear prominent in his eyes, "No. You can't…no! It's cruel and unusual punishment. Look at me, Father! I am.." he shook his head frantically searching for a word, "I'm embarrassed about it but… I just don't think I'm cut out for manual labour"

Ryan snorted and Sandy began chuckling heartily.

Seth shot them both glares, "Thanks for rubbing it in" he turned to his mother, "mom… make them stop!"

Kirsten broke out in a smile and shrugged, "Free will, Seth"

"I am disappointed in all of you" Seth told his family, picking up his fork again, "And I'll be sure to send my therapist's bill directly to you guys"

……………………………………

Hey you guys" Kirsten's voice interrupted Seth and Ryan bickering later.

They both turned, staring up innocently at her from the video game screen.

"Yes?" they both chorused.

Kirsten stared at them both for a moment, bewildered. "Two things. No more synchronisations because they're scary, and number two, would one of you take the Rover and grab me some Advil? Those nice friendly blue ones….?"

Seth groaned, leaning back in to the couch, "Why can't you go?" he demanded.

"Because I've been drinking upstairs with your –"

"Stop!" Seth demanded, "I've heard enough!"

"I'll go" Ryan offered, standing up, "Where are the keys?"

"Hey. No, Ry you can't leave me here alone with… with them.. with that!"

Ryan smirked across the room at Seth, "Should have thought of that before, huh?" he asked.

"I didn't know they were…were" he seemed to convulse for a moment, "Ew" he stole from Summer.

Ryan laughed, "Your loving parents, upstairs. All alone. Sandy nicked the bottle of wine

From the kitchen after dinner…"

Seth covered his ears frantically, "Not you too!" Seth groaned.

Ryan laughed, shrugging his shoulders, "It's fun to get you all…" he waved his hand towards Seth as if to demonstrate.

It was this point that Kirsten dropped the keys in to Ryan's open hand, as well as a twenty. She smiled heartily at Seth and continued on her way up the stairs.

"I'm coming with you!" Seth gasped, throwing himself off the couch and rushing ahead of Ryan.

Ryan grinned and turned on his heel to follow his brother.

…………………………………..

Ryan pulled the Rover in to a parking spot in front of the small Beck's, turning the ignition off and glancing over at Seth, "Make yourself useful" he grinned, slapping the twenty Kirsten had given him in to Seth's hand.

Seth glared, unlatched his seatbelt and grumbled while removing himself from the vehicle. "Don't say I never do anything for you" Seth told him, slamming the door closed.

Ryan grinned and began drumming his thumb against the steering wheel to the beat of the current song.

_Fight your nature, if you can hope for heaven, where we land_

Ryan yawned deeply, glancing at his watch. Just after nine.

Seth finally emerged from the store, but it wasn't until he was back in the Rover Ryan noticed he wasn't holding a bag of some sort.

"They didn't have any of the kinds mom likes" Seth answered his unasked question.

Ryan nodded, "Next store?"

"We could just go home. I'm sure she's probably forgotten about it by now" he shrugged.

Ryan glanced to his side, meeting Seth's gaze.

"Or… we could go to another store" Seth agreed.

"Uh huh" Ryan answered, starting the car and pulling out.

_First you tell me not to fret Then you frighten me again_

"Ryan, what is this?" Seth demanded, gesturing to the radio.

"Music" Ryan replied shortly.

"Uh. Sure. Who plays it?"

"Halloween, Alaska"

"I didn't ask for random mutterings-"

"That's the group, Seth"

Seth snorted, pulling out a chocolate bar and peeling back the wrapping.

"Where did you get that?"

"I bought it" Seth replied.

"With Kirsten's money?" Ryan eyed him.

Seth shrugged, "her money, my money. There's no difference really, Ryan"

_You're the brother and the beast You're the friend I knew the best_

"Hey, Ryan, that's kinda like us" Seth commented, his mouth full of chocolate.

"You can be the beast" Ryan commented lightly, "I don't suppose you got me one of those?" he asked, nodding to the chocolate.

"Didn't know what you'd want" Seth shrugged.

"Definitely the beast" Ryan sighed under his breath.

Again, Ryan pulled in to a small parking lot, this time pulling up against the sidewalk across two spots, he nodded to Seth.

"Mmm, busy Ryan. I did it last time" he smiled, handing Ryan a wad of scrunched up bills and change.

Ryan glared at him.

"I'll move the truck" Seth smiled back.

"It's fine here"

"Yeah. I'm sure the police officer waiting to pull in here is going to agree" Seth smiled, already climbing across the gearshift.

Ryan shook his head and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him, and walked warily in to the small variety store.

Cops still made him nervous, no matter the scenario. It had been bred in to him, really.

Ryan briskly entered the store, a small bell tinkling over his head. Surveying the aisles he made his way to one that looked as though it would have medicines.

Sure enough, the three shelves were packed full of small boxes and bottles developed for home remedy.

Ryan glanced around, meeting the eye of the cashier, "Do you have any advil?" Ryan asked, "Uhh.. the… blue ones?" he furrowed his eyebrows.

She let out a nervous smile, stepping out from behind the counter.

The lady had to be about thirty, but she was walking as though she had arthritis. Slowly and almost hesitantly. When she finally reached Ryan, she pointed to the third shelf from the top to a couple boxes nestled in behind some other things.

"Yeah, they're right here" she said so loudly and suddenly Ryan jumped, sending her a look.

Was something wrong with her?

He saw it then. A familiar look in her shining eyes. Fear.

She bent down to his ear, reaching for a box of the advil, "Help" she whispered so quietly he nearly missed it.

Her trembling fingers finally settled on the small box, but knocked just about everything around it off the shelf at the same time.

"I'm sorry!" she said loudly, glancing around as if expecting something.

"Are you.. okay?" Ryan asked, his voice lowered a tone.

She swallowed nervously. Another glance over her shoulder, "I'm being robbed"

Ryan froze, "You're –"

She nodded desperately.

_Shit_


	2. The Beast

**Arms Around You**

Chapter Two

Seth drummed his fingers nervously on the steering wheel, continuously eyeing the rear view mirrors for the police officer.

He had pulled in directly behind where Seth had chosen his new parking spot and had since just sat in the car with the interior light on.

Was he writing a ticket for them?

Seth hoped to hell not, his parents would kill him. Well, actually they would kill Ryan, since it was he who had decided to pull across two spots. But surely the cop would let it slide, Seth had moved the Rover. He'd even made sure it was within the faded lines drawn on the pavement.

The wait was killing him. And where the hell was Ryan? How long could it possibly take to grab some stupid Advil? And if he did come out, could they just leave? Or would the cop follow them and pull them over? What was the etiquette for police?

Maybe he should ask Ryan.

Then again, the last time Ryan had been pulled over was when he stole a car… and he hadn't exactly pulled over when the lights went on. Maybe asking Ryan wasn't such a good idea.

The parking lot went silent for a moment, shocking Seth out of his inner ramblings. He wasn't exactly sure what the problem was until he noticed the cop had turned his engine off, finally, and was getting out of the car.

Seth glanced around, noticing there was only one other car parked on the far side of the lot, engine still running. As soon as the cop began making his way towards the store, the beat up Chevy pulled out of it's spot and left the parking lot.

Seth's attention was drawn back to the police officer, Seth found suddenly he couldn't sit here. He pulled on the handle of the door, grabbing the keys from the ignition. The quiet music died suddenly as he threw open the door, ready to step out.

Which was when he noticed the police officer paused and set his hand on his hip holster. Seth froze, immediately raising his arms half heartedly while dropping the keys at the same time.

"Seth?" the officer asked.

Seth dropped his arms to the side, "Hey" he greeted back, still nervously eyeing the officer's hand until it dropped to his side.

Seth bent over and swiped the keys from the ground, trying to remember the officer's name, It was someone his dad had worked with at the office before, and even brought over to the house occasionally to rendezvous for surfing.

"Thomas" Seth finished, proud he'd finally gotten the name.

"How's your father?" Thomas asked.

"He's… fine I guess" Seth shrugged.

"That's good" he nodded his head, "Ryan still living with you guys?"

Seth paused for a moment confused, "How do you know about Ryan..?" Seth asked. The last time Thomas had been over had been awhile ago, before dad had left the PD's office, and before Ryan had come to stay with them.

Thomas laughed, "The entire office knows about it" he shook his head, still grinning, "All the women went crazy over it. You should hear them ramble on about it"

Seth grinned, "Funny, the women in my life weren't too thrilled about him, well, except for Marissa,but she doesn't count…" Seth realised he was rambling, "Yea, Ryan's inside" he finished, nodding his head towards the store and closing the Rover door behind him.

…………………………………

Inside, Ryan glanced nervously from side to side, "Where?" he whispered, bending over to grab the boxes that had fallen off the shelf.

The woman crouched beside him, her fingers trembling, "In the office. Two"

"Okay" Ryan let out a breath. Two of them. He couldn't take on two people, no way in hell. "We could run" Ryan suggested, already eyeing the path to the door.

"They have guns." She paused, "and Jenny"

"Jenny?" Ryan asked, adding two more boxes to the shelf.

"Another employee. They make us work with two people at night, robbery prevention"

Ryan snorted, unable to help himself. The woman beside him offered a weak grin.

It disappeared as soon as a shadow fell over both of them. Ryan tightened his grip around a small box, feeling it crumple under his grip. He glanced up to find a man towering over him, handgun held in his right hand.

He swallowed, his tongue feeling like a ball of cotton.

"Nice of you to join the party" the man commented, when Ryan met his cold grey-steel eyes through a black ski mask. Ryan clenched his jaw, he'd only known this man for two seconds, and already he reminded Ryan of AJ.

Ryan shifted his eyes from the man and back to the gun, which was held steadily. The guy knew what he was doing. Ryan relaxed slightly, knowing that a nervous trigger finger could be a lot more dangerous than a knowledgeable one.

Besides that, the fact the man seemed almost at ease in this environment meant he'd done it before, which likely meant he would want to be in and out asap. If no one got in his way, no one would be hurt.

This knowledge absorbing in to his brain, Ryan knew the best thing would be not to jump the guy to gain some semblance of control. That would just turn in to a stand off.

"Stand up" The man ordered, stepping back a foot and gesturing to them with the gun. Ryan and the woman slowly rose to their feet.

All three's attention was drawn to the door suddenly as the bell overhead jingled, announcing a new arrival.

"Ryan, what the hell is taking you so lo-" Seth started, stopping mid-sentence when he saw the scene before him.

Seth met Ryan's frantic eyes for a moment, before they focused on a figure standing behind him. It took Seth a moment to realise he had entered the store with Thomas, which wasn't necessarily a great thing.

Seth did the first thing that came to mind when the man's gun swung towards his direction. He dove to the side, sliding across the tiled floor out of the line of fire.

Ryan at seeing Seth enter the store, felt something rise from the pit of his stomach solid as lead. Fear.

Noticing the robber's attention was now drawn to the door as well , Ryan immediately grabbed the man's arm with both of his hands forcing the gun down towards the floor, as the first shot went off.

A tile on the floor just in front of both men exploded, sending pieces in all directions.

Ryan, momentarily stunned at the sudden loud blast by his ear, was caught off guard when the man he was fighting with elbowed him in the nose.

His eyes began to water immediately, but thinking of Seth he blinked them away, again continuing the fight for control over the gun.

Finally managing to push the man to the floor by using his body weight and short stature Ryan was able to land on top, losing grip on the man's arm as the gun skidded across the tile, just out of reach.

Ryan swung his arm, connecting to the man's face before he felt the man's thick hands wrap around his own neck.

Finding it hard to breath, Ryan attempted to pull away by leaning backwards, but the man wouldn't have it. The pressure on his throat increased and Ryan could feel dizziness start to swarm his head.

"Don't move!" a loud firm voice commanded, and though Ryan couldn't look up, he was sure it was the police officer.

The same police officer who didn't yet know about the second man in the back with a hostage.

"How about you don't move" another voice commented.

Well, Ryan reasoned, he hadn't known. Now he did.

As small red and blue dots began to blur his vision, the man finally threw him backwards in to the shelving unit causing Ryan to slam his head again a metal bracket. A loud cracking sound filled the store momentarily as his head bounced off the solid steel.

But he could breath. He gasped, taking in as much air as he could before being interrupted with a kick to the stomach. Ryan rolled over, clutching his arms around him and glancing upwards.

The man once again, had his gun, and it was pointed steadily at Ryan's head.

The woman Ryan had talked to was sitting against a shelf, her arms encircling her legs. Tears were pouring from her ashen face and her eyes were fixed on something to his left.

Ryan glanced over, fearing the worst. He didn't know where Seth was. But it wasn't Seth she was staring at, it was the cop. Propped against another snack stand and clutching his bleeding shoulder.

The second robber stood over him, nudging him with his boot, "Get up!" he ordered the officer.

The cop glanced up, his eyes slightly glazed over, but he got up.

"You two" the first guy nudged Ryan with his boot again. Ryan clumsily dragged himself to his feet, surveying the store. Still no sign of Seth. His stomach tightened.

"Everyone is going to sit in this corner, under the mirror, where we can see you. No one moves, no one tries to be a hero" the man warily eyed Ryan, "And no one else gets hurt"

Seth, what about Seth? His mind nagged him incessantly as they all took a seat on the cold dusty floor.

Across the store, no longer splayed across the floor, but sitting crouched behind a potato chip stand, Seth nervously eyed the door.

He could run for it, and probably make it. But what about Ryan?

He couldn't leave Ryan. Ryan was his best friend, his brother. He wasn't leaving.

"Hey kid" a gruff voice spoke from beside him.

Seth glanced over to find a man towering over him, bloodied nose, holding a gun in his palm.

Seth's chest tightened.

He definitely wasn't leaving now.

"Get in the back before I shoot you in the head" the guy said, grabbing Seth's shirt and hauling him to his feet.

Seth, speechless for once, followed the man's directions slowly and deliberately.

Shot in the head was not what he wanted to be.

As he neared the rear of the story, Seth found Ryan's eyes seeking him out. He saw the fear in them, but also the obvious relief, which was when Seth noticed the blood all over Ryan's hands.

He quickened his pace, "Ryan, you're-"

"It's not mine" Ryan intervened, gesturing to the police officer beside him. Ryan immediately replaced his hands on the back of Thomas' shoulder.

"Thomas, are you okay?" Seth asked.

Ryan shot Seth a look, "You know him?"

"Yeah. Friend of dad's."

"So you're Ryan" Thomas smiled weakly at him.

Ryan nodded, unsure of what to say.

"This is… this is a lotta blood" Seth began to ramble.

One desperate look from Ryan and Seth shut up.

To Thomas, Ryan offered a wary grin, "It's a clean one. Through and through. That's… good"

Seth couldn't help but snort, "Good?"

Ryan shrugged, "No infection. No bullet lodged in his shoulder… it's…"

"Yeah. Good. Got it" Seth replied, eyes falling on to the two woman huddled in the corner clutching each other's hand. They were both wearing aprons advertising the name of the variety store they were in.

"Seth, put your hand here, and put pressure on it" Ryan directed, scooting away from Thomas while trying to keep his hand over the exit wound.

"Me?" Seth asked, voice coming out in a slight squeak.

"Seth" Ryan begged.

"Why? Where are you going?"

Ryan nodded up to the front.

"No. No way. Nu uh. I'm not going to let you commit suicide by going up there" Seth folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Seth, I'm going to try and talk them in to letting Thomas leave. He needs medical attention." Ryan whispered, leaning closer to his friend.

"That's Crazy man, with a capitol 'C'. Why don't we just wait for them to leave?"

Ryan eyed Seth, "You're not very observant, are you?" Ryan questioned.

"What? Yes I am, what are you talking about?"

"I heard them talking. Their ride out of here is gone, took off."

"We'll give them the Rover" Seth said, fumbling for his keys.

"And, there are police outside" Ryan finished, nodding his head to the window.

Seth turned his head, trying to squint past the posters stuck on the window. The dead giveaway was the flashing blue and red lights floating through the darkness, hardly noticeable in the florescent lighting of the store.

"Well this… this just sucks" Seth stated deadpan, turning back to Ryan. "So you think we're stuck here?"

"I'm trying not to think anything right now" Ryan shot back, trying to shrug off his sweatshirt.

"Uh. Ryan. Now's not the time to be stripping for the ladies" Seth commented, trying to lighten the situation.

"It's for Thomas" Ryan told him, handing Seth the beaten up grey hoodie, "And you can give him your jacket too"

"A sweatshirt and jacket?" Seth asked, shrugging off his coat.

"Sweatshirt is for the blood. Jacket's to keep him warm. He's probably in shock.. or something… I don't know" Ryan shook his head, confused.

Seth immediately set his jacket over Thomas who was still attempting to cover the entry wound in his shoulder. Seth balled up the sweatshirt and held it to the back of Thomas' shoulder, turning to find that Ryan had already departed and was now halfway up the aisle.

Ryan, once he'd gotten half way, rose his hands slowly to his sides trying to show he had nothing on him. His eyes scanned the storefront continuously, his feet following the sounds of hushed talking.

All at once, both men were in sight talking in hushed whispers and being ignorant of Ryan. Now, had the opportunity arisen, would have been the time to swipe a weapon of some sort just as characters on television did.

But, alas, there was no weapon available in Ryan's view, so instead he quietly cleared his throat, watching both men turn frantically towards the noise.

Ryan unconsciously raised his hands a little higher, taking a step back. An obvious form of submission.

"What the fuck, didn't we tell you to-"

"The cop you shot needs medical attention" Ryan interrupted, clenching his jaw. He could feel his stomach take great leaps to make it in to his throat.

The man who reminded Ryan of AJ snorted, "You're kidding, right? We're robbing this store, and you want us to help a police officer stay alive?"

"Well. If he dies, you get in more trouble when you get caught"

That seemed to piss the AJ-like guy off so much he stepped from around the counter and raised his gun towards Ryan, who took another step back.

"We won't get caught" the man snarled, leaning in to Ryan's face.

This time, Ryan said nothing and the man removed himself from Ryan's subconscious bubble by taking a step backwards.

"Get back to your corner" the man snarled.

Slowly Ryan began to turn, a sudden sharp pain in his head caused him to nearly fall over. He clutched on to a shelving unit to hold himself up. Ryan turned his head to find the man rubbing blood from the barrel of the gun, and Ryan knew it was his.

He'd just been pistol whipped by someone who reminded him of AJ. The hate seethed through his insides, coursing in his blood. Ryan felt heat rise to his cheeks, remembering the last time he'd seen AJ.

The man looked up suddenly, his steely eyes meeting Ryan's blue ones, "And don't fuck with me anymore, kid" he spat, nodding his head for Ryan to continue his journey.

He found himself biting the inside of his cheek trying to keep his mouth in check. It had gotten him in to a lot of trouble before, but now wasn't the time. Right now, it wasn't just Ryan in danger, there were four other people in here as well.

So instead of a cold retort, Ryan turned on his heel and began to make his way to the corner once more, fighting the throbbing that seemed to echo in his head like a loud migraine.

……………………………………………..


	3. Not to Fret

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long guys, and thank you for all the great reviews!

**Arms Around You**

Chapter Three

"You're bleeding" Seth stated, looking up from Thomas.

Ryan noticed that both Seth and Thomas' faces were ashen. "Are you okay?" He asked Seth.

Seth grimaced, "Not so good with the… blood and the gore" he admitted, "What happened to you?"

Ryan shrugged, taking a seat carefully as to not agitate his wounds further, "They liked the idea of me going up there even less then you" he offered a wary smile, "Let me take him" Ryan said, nodding to Thomas.

Seth quickly scuttled out of the way, trying to avoid looking at the fallen police officer beside him.

"When did he lose consciousness?" Ryan asked.

"When you were gone, I kind of shook him, but I didn't want to hurt him"

Ryan bit his lip. Unconsciousness was definitely not good. He felt himself getting restless, his mind and body resisting the urge to do something, anything.

Beside him Seth seemed to notice, " "Chill Ry, we'll be out of here in no time" he bounced his knee at the same time. Impatient. Seth slapped his hand on it to try and get it to stop.

"So are you guys, like, brothers?" a woman's voice questioned.

Ryan and Seth glanced over to the two woman, almost having forgotten about their presence.

"Yes" Seth stated matter of factly,

"No" Ryan mumbled at the same time.

Seth flushed and turned away, while Ryan studied the tip of his running shoe.

"In every aspect other than blood, yes" Ryan's voice suddenly broke the tense silence between them all.

Seth looked up, unable to keep the smile from his face. Ryan admitting they were like brothers was a giant leap for the emotionally detached house guest.

"Feel lucky, you don't have to worry about the eye brows" Seth joked, unable to stop himself. Damn his need to fill nervous silences with jokes. However inappropriate it may have seemed, he saw the ends of Ryan's mouth turn in to a slight smile. At least he was doing something right.

……………………………………….

"How's your back?" Kirsten asked Sandy, entering their bedroom.

Sandy smiled over at her, "It'll be wonderful once my pain relief gets here" he said from the bed where he was propped awkwardly against the headboard, "Might even have another round in me"

Kirsten snorted, but immediately vanished the grin from her face, "The boys should be back by now" she perched herself on the bed. "Something's wrong"

He reached over to begin rubbing her neck, "They probably just ran in to the girls is all" Sandy reassured her, "You know how men are"

Kirsten offered him a teasing glare, "Yea. I know exactly how men are"

But Sandy's attention was now on the small television they had in their bedroom.

"Sandy?" Kirsten asked, but Sandy only reached over to un-mute the television.

"- cer Thomas Newman is thought to be inside. It is unknown how many are inside or whether there are injuries, but local police are not taking any risks and have cordoned off the immediate area…."

"Sandy?" Kirsten asked again, tensely. She rested her hand on his arm.

"I know him. I go surfing with him" Sandy said, more to himself than his wife, eyes still drawn to the television.

Kirsten bit her lip and stole a glance at the television, where, in a small corner, a picture of a familiar looking man dressed in uniform was. The woman continued with her live broadcast, and Kirsten could see the area she was in.

Not around here, she thought with some amount of relief. It was in the core, down near the pier. And the woman reporting went off screen and the camera man panned around to show the gathering crowd of spectators and reporters.

Kirsten's fingers involuntarily clutched Sandy's arm so hard her knuckles turned white. "Sandy" she whispered, eyes now glued to the television.

Sandy snapped from the fog he was in, turning towards his wife's pleading whimper. "Honey?" he inquired.

"Sandy, the boys" she whispered, not letting go of his arm, nor letting her eyes leave the television.

"Honey. The boys wouldn't be at that store, they have no reason to have gone so far –" Sandy's voice broke off as he turned to glance at the television.

The camera was now focused on the news woman, with the store in the background a distance away. Because of a mixture of ill lighting and the impending darkness it was hard for Sandy to make out the vehicle in the lot.

But he knew that vehicle. It was theirs.

"We have to get down there" Kirsten suddenly jumped from the bed. "We have to help them, we have to do something! We have to –"

"Calm down" Sandy intervened, attempting to keep his cool. Kirsten stopped, turned around and looked at him. Her face was pale and her eyes were livid, "Sandy!"

Sandy jumped from the bed, ignoring the burning pain in his back, and switched off the television, grabbing the keys and wallet on the bedside table.

"Lets go" he said.

…………………………………….

"Ryan, where are you going?" Seth demanded of his brother. Ryan was attempting to lean Thomas against the glass refrigerator door.

Ryan shot him a quick glance, then withdrew his eyes to the floor. "He's going to die, Seth" Ryan finally got out.

Even Seth could hear the emotion in Ryan's trembling voice.

Seth swallowed, surprised the announcement hadn't taken more out of him. He'd never seen anyone die before, and now here he was, watching someone pop it while covered in blood. While Seth was covered in his blood.

He stole another glance at Ryan, who still wasn't looking up.

"You're not serious!" Jenny let out from beside them, in a whispered but frantic tone.

"It's just a shoulder wound. People have lived after worse!" Megan, the woman beside her nearly begged. Pleaded.

_Please, Ryan, tell us this isn't true._

But Ryan couldn't. "He's lost a lot of blood. He's in shock… he's…" Ryan faltered for a moment, then glanced up meeting all three of them in the eye. "I'm going to ask them, again"

"What? That's crazy, look at what happened last time!" Seth's worry for Ryan escaped, "You're head's still bleeding!"

Ryan felt the side of his head, "No. It's pretty much stopped now. Head wounds bleed a lot anyways." He excused.

"Ryan –"

"Seth! This is someone's _life_"

"And yours too! How do you know they won't shoot you if you bother them again!"

Ryan shrugged. He'd thought about that, of course. But sometimes some things had to be done.

Ryan, again ignoring Seth's pleading eyes, made his way up the small aisle, arms raised at his side.

…………………………………..

Sandy pulled the BMW as far as the orange police road blocks would allow, screeching the tires to a halt. Both of them were out before the music had even died down.

"Hey!" an authoritative and heavy voice commanded.

Kirsten and Sandy both stopped and turned slightly to the side.

"You can't park there, and you can't go past this line" a burly officer in uniform spoke up, over his crackling radio.

"Our kids are in that store" Sandy told him.

The officer's mouth was already open for a retort, but Sandy's statement seemed to stop what ever had been about to roll from his tongue. Suddenly he nodded and stepped back a foot, "Just hold on a minute" he told them both, grabbing for the radio on his shoulder.

……………………………….

"What the hell are you doing up here again!" the man demanded angrily, seeing Ryan standing behind them both, arms still raised.

All Ryan saw was AJ. He seethed, but managed to keep it under control.

"That cop back there" Ryan nodded his head to the side, "Is going to die-"

"You said that last time, you little shit. And we told you last time, that we didn't care"

Ryan swallowed, somewhat brave if only because he was still a good ten feet from the man in front of him. "He's gonna die" Ryan repeated.

The man didn't reply.

"He's a cop. And you guys killed him. You want that on your record? Manslaughter of an officer? If you ever, ever get caught, the justice system will chew you and spit you back out so hard you wont know what –" Ryan had to stop his spiel to jump back.

The AJ – like man had taken a few steps forward, raising the small handgun in front of him.

Ryan could hardly catch his breath.

"Paul, stop being a dick" the second robber told him.

Paul, the AJ-like man, took a step back, still glaring at Ryan.

"No one was supposed to get hurt" the man continued, "And this little shit is right. If we just let the cop go, maybe they'll meet our demands –"

"Or maybe they'll use that time gap to bust in here and shoot us"

Ryan watched the exchange quietly. Things were not all quiet on the home front, apparently.

Unfortunately, Seth's cell phone chose this moment to begin vibrating against Ryan's hip. He'd forgotten to give the damn thing back to Seth.

The two men stopped and stared at Ryan, the vibrating sound still distinguishable over the buzz of the florescent lighting.

"What the fuck?" Paul demanded, taking another step towards Ryan.

"It's a cell phone, we haven't answered it, I swear –" Ryan began, interrupted by Paul's fist. He stumbled backwards, catching his balance.

The phone continued to ring.

Ryan continued to stare.

"Maybe we should talk to them" the man behind Paul suggested, "It's probably the police anyways. We can tell them we have hostages, and we're about to release one of their own, so they'd better not try shit"

"This isn't some fucking fantasy world, Chris!" Paul snapped.

"Stop fucking using my name!"

"You fucking used mine. I swear to god, _Chris_, if I'm going to jail, so are you!"

The phone stopped vibrating, having gone to voicemail. The lack of sound drew both men's attention back to Ryan.

"Now that opportunity's over with" Chris remarked snidely.

"You're the one who fucking ripped the phone cord from the wall earlier!"

The phone began to vibrate once more, and Ryan reached down slowly to unclip it from his belt.

He held the blood spattered phone away from him, in an open palm. Both men stared at it for a moment, which was when Ryan noticed the number coming up on the display was still labelled "Parental Units"

Did he really want these guys talking to Kirsten? Or Sandy? Neither of them probably even knew of their predicament. A stranger answering the phone and demanded police would give them reason for worry.

"Uh. It's my parents" Ryan told them, lowering his eyes.

"Answer it" Chris finally snapped.

Ryan glanced up to find both men waiting. "Me?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah you. Who the fuck else would answer it! Don't tell them anything, just bull shit and say you'll be home in a bit. We don't need more fucking people around"

Ryan flipped the phone open with his thumb.

"Hello?" he asked, warily.

"Ryan?" Sandy's voice demanded, a little bit confused.

"Uh. Hey Sandy. We just ran in to the girl's and lost track of time. We'll be home soon" he managed to string together full sentences.

"Ryan? Are you both okay?" Sandy demanded.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Ryan asked, glancing back up at the two men in front of him.

"Ryan. We're outside. We saw the car on television and –"

"Television?" Ryan asked, the word catching Chris and Paul's attention.

They both cursed under their breaths.

"Is everyone okay in there?"

"Uh. Can you hold on a sec? " Ryan asked, not waiting for an answer.

"I thought you said they were your parents! He fucking tricked us!" Paul began to get angry.

"They are" Ryan put in.

"You call your parents by their first name?"

"They're my… foster… whatever. They know what's going on. There's a t.v. station here. What do you want me to tell them?"

Silence fell for a moment.

"Tell them you wanna talk to the cops. And then give me the phone"

Ryan put the cell phone back up to his ear, "Sandy?"

"Yeah?"

"Uhm. They want to talk to the cops. Is there one there that…?"

"Right here, Ryan. You and Seth hold on in there, okay? Everything's gonna be okay. We love you both" Sandy added.

Ryan swallowed and handed over the phone.

"Now get back in that fucking corner before I shoot you and everyone else back there in the fucking head" Paul told him. Ryan nodded, silently hoping that Sandy hadn't been still listening for that last part.


	4. Frighten Me Again

A/N: Hey guys. I just want to say thanks for all the great reviews, especially to those who've been reviewing from my very first story. Again, I'm sorry this took so long to get posted, I know excuses suck, but I've been in middle of places. On the bright side, I have a place to stay for now. Downside? Limited internet access (meaning limited posts) and, well, it's definitely _not_ a pool-house.

Anyways, thanks again, and sorry.

**Arms Around You**

Chapter Four

'_..We love you both..' _Sandy's voice rang through Ryan's head as he headed back towards the corner they had taken up residence in.

"Your nose is bleeding" Seth commented as Ryan took a seat against the refrigerators that held frozen juices and dinners.

Ryan wiped the back of his hand across his nose to find it smeared with blood. "Yeah. I guess it is" he replied lamely.

"At least it's not a head wound…?" Seth commented, making it sound more like a question.

"Mmhmm"

"So what happened, is Thomas getting out of here?"

"I.. think so" Ryan shrugged. He could feel the exhaustion settling in to his body, as though he'd just played a soccer match.

Ryan ignored Seth's penetrating stare for more information as he took a tally of himself. His breaths were longer now, though still painful. His head was throbbing and once in awhile little spots began to dance across his line of vision. Concussion.

"Ryan" Seth's nudged his brother.

Ryan looked over, "Yea?"

"What happened?"

Ryan shrugged, "Not much. The two of them aren't seeing eye to eye on a lot of things. They're talking to the police right now. Oh, your dad called"

"Dad called? What did you tell him? Is he gonna use his lawyer super powers to get us all out?"

Ryan stared at him, "Him and Kirsten are outside. They saw the Rover on the news coverage –"

"There's news vans here?"

Another blank stare.

"Right. Well, at least after this is all over and we're all okay we can all be famous, at least for a little while. I mean, people are still talking about Jimmy Cooper so this should give them a change of pace" Seth babbled.

But Ryan was gone, lost in his own thoughts. 'When we're all okay and can get out of here' Seth had said, optimistically. The way things were going, Ryan felt they were going to be here all night. Would they get out?

Was Seth right in being optimistic? Or was Ryan right in thinking that nothing ever had a fairy tale ending?

"Hey" a rough voice commanded, breaking Seth's babbling and Ryan's thoughts. The silence was deafening, even the fridge motors had seemed to turn off for the occasion.

They all stared at the newcomer nervously, or in Ryan's case, defensively. He squared his shoulders to stare up at Paul, who was staring right back at him.

"What?" Ryan asked, finding his voice. It was then he noticed the cell phone clutched in Paul's hand, still open. The gun was in the other.

"Police want to talk to you"

"Why?"

"They want to know everyone's okay" Paul paused then shifted the gun so he could run his fingers over the cold steel, "So that's what you'll tell them"

"You want me to lie?" Ryan asked.

"They know 'bout the cop already." Paul nearly growled, shoving the phone towards Ryan.

He took it, gingerly and held it to his ear, still staring at the large man in front of him.

"Hello?" Ryan asked, darting his eyes to the side quick to check on everyone. Seth's head was bobbing from Paul to Ryan, the girls were staring at Paul, and Thomas, of course, was still unconscious.

"This is Timothy Rice, with the Newport PD, who am I speaking with?"

"Uh. Ryan"

"Ryan what?"

"Atwood"

"Okay Ryan, how is everyone in there, how are you? You okay?"

"Uhm. Thomas isn't so great"

"We know about Thomas" the man replied, his voice stressed, "How is everyone else?"

Ryan glanced around, "Okay I guess. I mean, they're all still breathing. Just scared right now"

"Do you know who is in there with you? Aside from the officer?"

"Uhh, Seth Cohen, Jenny and Megan… I dunno their last names"

"It's just the five of you?"

"And Chris and Paul" Ryan replied, unthinking. He realised as soon as the words were out he'd made a mistake. As soon as the person on the phone took in a deep breath and a steel toed boot met with his ribs.

Ryan let out a gasp, the white hot pain lacing through him. He leaned over, dropping the phone and clutching at his middle for a moment. From where he lay on the floor, Ryan saw Paul snatch up the phone and snap it shut.

"You did that on purpose" Paul spoke menacingly.

Ryan managed to look up and meet the man's eye, surprised to feel the warmth of tears on his own cheek.

"No" Ryan managed to gasp out. He was sure something had cracked this time.

Paul drew back his right foot, ready to strike again, Ryan cringed and waited.

"Stop it!" someone interfered.

Ryan cracked open an eye, surprised to hear Seth's voice. He saw Paul look at the small gangly kid sitting beside Ryan.

"Stop it" Seth's voice came again, more steady this time. "If you hurt him, you're just gonna mess things up for yourself. You know they're gonna call back and demand to speak with Ryan again –"

"Seth" Ryan interrupted, dragging himself up from the floor, back in to a sitting position.

Seth glanced at him, eyes full of worry. But Ryan Could also see a spark of anger.

Ryan looked back to Paul, noting he'd placed his foot back on the floor.

The phone began to buzz against Paul's hand. He flipped it open and handed it to Ryan.

"Yea?" Ryan breathed out, closing his eyes temporarily to shut out the pain snaking through his ribs.

"Is this Ryan?"

"Yea" Ryan replied.

"Ryan. What happened? Did they hurt you?"

Ryan let out a snort, immediately regretting it, "I'm fine. Just do what they want, I'm hungry" he replied.

The best way to not leak information was to not talk about the subject in question, as use as few words possible.

Ryan handed the phone back to Paul, still open. He walked away before putting the cell to his ear.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked, as soon as he was out of sight.

"Yea. Thanks, Seth, for that. It was stupid, and dangerous. But it worked"

"Stupid and dangerous. You must be rubbing off on me" Seth remarked, "But seriously, you okay? I think I heard something crack"

"I think something did" Ryan retorted.

Seth's face fell.

"I'm okay for now. And this way I might get some nice percs from the doctor"

Seth's lips twitched in to a half smile for a moment. "This sucks" he commented.

"Really? I thought this was a great way to spend a weekend" Ryan replied dryly.

"What have I told you about not being funny?"

"You're just jealous 'cause I'm better than you"

Seth snorted and let the conversation die.

………………………………..

"Sandy, what did he say? Was that Ryan?" Kirsten demanded, as soon as he got back from handing over the cell phone to the police.

"Yeah, that was Ryan. He tried to play it off like they were out with Marissa and Summer at first though"

"So?"

"So, it makes me wonder if they would ever call if it had been a different situation. A car accident or a fight or something. Anything"

"Sandy-" Kirsten began.

"I know, I know. It's not the time. I'm just worried about them. I'm worried that if we'd never turned on the television and seen the news at that exact time, we may have never known, at least until it was over with. And who knows how it will end"

Kirsten's arms encircled her husbands waist, and she leaned her head on his shoulder, "They'll be okay" Kirsten whispered in his ear.

Sandy peeled his eyes off the distant corner store to look down at her and remembered exactly why he loved her so much. He kissed her on the forehead, pulling her closer, then began his unending search for any sign of life inside that store.

………………………………….

"This is bad" Chris commented, tapping his free hand on the plastic casing that protected the instant lottery cards.

The fight for a quick buck had now turned in to a fight for survival, and him and Paul were down on the odds.

Everyone outside this store wouldn't care if they died getting out of this. There were five people in here who had already thought about turning Chris' gun on himself.

He eyed Paul warily beside him. His brother. His fucking brother. How the hell had this even happened?

In and Out, Paul had told him. Paul had claimed he knew the store, knew who would be working. He had claimed it would be quick and easy. The guns were just for show.

Bull shit.

Now they'd shot a fucking cop who was on the verge of dying. Paul had pretty near beaten that one kid senseless, though Chris assumed the kid could take care of himself. He had the world weary look. The one that told outsiders he'd seen too much shit.

Chris knew that look. He saw it in the mirror every fucking morning.

He shot another glance at his brother, who was beginning to shake, his eyes were darting around frantically, and now that Chris looked closely, he could see the beads of perspiration lining his brother's forehead.

He was coming down. He'd be a lunatic soon enough, looking for a way to his next shot.

Again Chris wondered how this had happened. Not just the robbery gone bad, eventually it was bound to happen. But them in general. Chris and Paul.

They'd had a decent life. Not one of big houses and trust funds, but they had always had food in the fridge, gas in the car. They had both graduated high school. Just barely, but they had their diplomas.

They'd never been abused, he'd loved his parents, and knew that Paul had as well.

It had been after they'd both died that Chris and Paul had fallen apart. His senior year which seemed like a lifetime ago when it was only a number of years.

Paul had gotten in to drugs, he'd found his release, his escape. Chris just hadn't cared enough to put a stop to it, and had found himself drawn to the effects.

He sighed again, "This is bad. I feel it in my –"

"Shut up" Paul snapped, banging a fist on the counter. "It's gonna be fine. We get that fucking cop out of here and then we can start talking deals."

Chris nodded. It was, he guessed, their only chance now.

"Go get them" Paul demanded angrily, rubbing his forehead.

……………………………………

"You. You're taking the cop outside."

Ryan looked up, surprised. Chris was standing in front of him, fingering his gun nervously.

"Me?"

"Yeah. The guy's got to weigh about two hundred" Chris said, as though it explained everything.

"Can someone else?" Ryan asked, glancing over. If Seth or anyone else could get near the door, they could get out, home free.

"Why?"

"My ribs" Ryan replied after a beat.

Chris' eyes narrowed at Ryan for a moment, and Ryan kept meeting them. _Don't look away, he'll know_.

"Fine. You" he nodded at Seth.

"Me"

Ryan glanced over at Seth, searching his eyes and hoping he could read minds. Seth finally glanced over and Ryan willed him to realise he should make a break when possible.

Seth's eyes remained the same. Unknowing.

"Let one of the girl's do it. My parents are out here, and if they see me covered in Thomas' blood, they'll jump through the plate glass window themselves"

Now Chris was getting pissed off, and Ryan noticed the tapping of his boot.

"The girls could do it. They could support his weight between them both." Ryan put in.

Chris glanced back at him, his eyes dancing.

They stared at each other a few moments longer, like two territorial alley cats.

"Fine" Chris relented finally, and Ryan let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. Chris turned his back and began walking away, then seemed to pause.

This time, he didn't look at Ryan, he looked at the girls who were still nervously clutching each other's hands for support.

There was silence for a moment, then he spoke. "If you're going to run, make sure you do it fast." He commented, then began striding away.

Ryan stared after him, shocked.

He knew. And he was letting them do it. Ryan shot a look to Megan and Jenny, "Think you can run fast?"

They both smiled weakly, "Like our lives depend on it" Jenny commented quietly.

They were probably right.

Ryan glanced at Seth, "That was –"

"Brave? Noble? Terrifying?"

Ryan smiled, "All of the above… plus stupid" he added.

Seth shot him another half smile. "Women and Children first, you know" he smiled.

Ryan shot him a look from the corner of his eye, "You'll get your fifteen minutes of fame now"

"And a beating from mom and dad" Seth remarked.

Ryan shot his brother a quick grin, then moved to help the girls get in position with Thomas.

At least some of them were getting out of here, right?

…………………………………….


	5. Where we Land

**Arms Around You**

Chapter Five

Seth sat on the tiled floor, legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes were vaguely following the small movements of Ryan and the girls, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

What had he done?

He'd given up his chance of getting out of this hole safely.

_It was the right thing to do._

But then, why was he so mad at himself? Why so scared? Even, Ryan had said it was stupid, so why the hell had he stayed?

_Ryan's here. Ryan's my brother. _

And Seth knew. Because if he had taken the chance to leave, and anything had happened to either Ryan, or the girls, he knew he would feel guilty for as long as he could remember the incident.

At least here, he wasn't completely disconnected from what was going on, right?

"Seth?" Ryan's voice interceded his thoughts.

Seth looked up in to Ryan's face, for the first time noticing how damaged it looked under the fluoresce of the lighting.

His cheekbones were bruised, his eyes were blackened, his nose was bloody and there was a gaping wound stretched across the side of his forehead.

"You okay?" Ryan asked, attempting to kneel in front of Seth. He only made it half way before his ribs resisted the movement.

"Yea, why wouldn't I be? Who doesn't want to be part of a robbery gone wrong?" Seth joked, trying to throw him off.

Was Seth okay? Was he okay? He wasn't sure. He'd never been or seen anything like this before. Sure, there was the whole Danny thing, but that had been quick and over with. No one had died, no one had even been close to dying.

But Thomas was. Almost dead, that was.

And Seth was covered in his blood.

He stared down at his hands, at his jeans and t-shirt. All covered with Thomas' blood. Thomas' life.

He knew from Dad that Thomas had a wife and kid. Maybe two kids, he couldn't remember that well. What would they do if their father died? Her husband?

All because of some stupid pricks who wanted a fast buck.

"Seth, you gotta snap out of it man. You're okay. Thomas is getting out of here, he'll be fine"

Seth looked up at Ryan. When had Ryan ever lead him intentionally astray?

Never. He could trust Ryan. Part of him _had_ to trust Ryan, for his own sanity.

Seth nodded.

Ryan turned to the girls, whose faces were tear strewn, "You guys ready?"

Megan nodded tentatively.

Ryan met both women in the eye, "Just remember to run fast. Don't' look back, don't hesitate. The police will probably meet you halfway and take Thomas."

This time it was Jenny who replied, with a nod.

"Good luck" Ryan told them both, lamely, watching the girls turn awkwardly under the weight of the fallen officer. As soon as they were a few steps away, Ryan ignored the burning in his ribs and knelt down in front of Seth.

A streak of fear ran through Ryan as he realised that, for a moment, Seth hadn't been there. His eyes had been empty, lost in thought.

"Seth?"

"Uh huh?"

Ryan hesitated, maybe Seth wasn't up for this? His light hearted chatter had turned in to quiet numbness. Seth himself was probably sinking in to some sort of mental shock.

A breakdown? Ryan wondered.

"We need to get out of here" Ryan told Seth.

Seth studied his as though he were crazy.

"Right now"

"Why the sudden rush?"

"Because when those two run, These guys are going to be pissed. Royally pissed, and I for one, don't want to be here to take the brunt of the blame."

Seth nodded. "A plan?"

Ryan shot a look backwards, the girls were about halfway up the aisle. He'd told them to move slow getting out of the store. He'd known they would need time to plan.

His eyes scanned the nearby shelves, reaching out for a jar of pickles. He held them up, "How's your arm?"

""Probably not as good as yours" Seth commented, eyes sparkling. He was starting to come back.

"Okay, here's the plan. Pickles meet floor, cause distraction. I want you to take down Chris. I'll take Paul. We have to move quick-"

"Can you even move quick, with your ribs?"

"If our lives depend on it, yes." Ryan told him seriously.

Seth didn't reply, but stood up to follow Ryan.

Ryan could feel his breath getting caught in his throat, and had to remind himself to breath. He briefly wondered if Seth was having the same problem, but pushed the thought from his head.

He needed to focus. And right now, that meant following the girls up the aisle without being seen. Timing was everything. He had to make sure the girls had left the store, and that the robbers' attention was drawn outside the store. Hopefully, the girls running and the police surrounding them, could provide that exact distraction.

And a jar of pickles.

Ryan struggled to push back the thoughts that protested the plan. Sometimes risks were involved in gaining, right?

He sure the hell hoped so.

When Ryan reached the shelves that were covered in microwave popcorn he paused. They were the last set of shelves before the aisle opened up to reveal the cash register, where Chris and Paul were.

The girls had reached to door to the convenience store now, and were hesitating to push it open.

Nerves.

Finally Megan reached out and pushed the door with her left hand, struggling to keep standing under Thomas' unconscious form.

The bell jingled from above the door.

Both girls took two steps out of the store, and the glass door fell back shut.

There was silence for a moment, then movement from up ahead. Ryan tensed, able to feel Seth's breath on the back of his neck. He held his own in.

Footsteps, then two bodies emerged from the hidden sight.

"They're fuckin' running!" Paul suddenly cried out, watching the figures outside being rushed by police.

Well, at least that plan had worked.

"What the –"

Ryan saw exactly what Paul did at the same time.

Ryan and Seth's reflection clear as day, reflected in the glass door against the night sky.

Ryan lodged the jar of pickles somewhere off to the left of them just as Paul began to spin around angrily.

The resulting crash surprised all four of them, the jar having hit a pane of glass. It shattered, the loud crack of glass breaking filled the store.

Ryan had already made his move, he could hear Seth follow suit.

Ryan made it to Paul just as Paul was recovering and raising his gun. He dove the last couple feet, the only thought in his head before impact was the realisation that this was going to hurt. A lot.

He hit Paul right at the waist, knocking him backwards in to the cola fridge beside the door. He heard the clatter of a gun, and the loud breathing of someone who was angry. Without thinking Ryan swung his right fist, hitting Paul hard in the face and knocking him slightly to Ryan's left.

Paul lost his balance, and the gun.

Ryan immediately stretched across the linoleum from where he was sprawled to grab it. His fingers clasped on to the cold steel and he rolled on his side, wincing in pain, until he was in a sitting position.

His breaths were ragged now, and painful. Dots danced across his vision once more, but he didn't let that stop him from pointing the weapon at Paul.

His finger itched, and suddenly Paul's sneering angry face turned in to AJ's. Ryan caught himself and made the effort to keep his finger lightly on the trigger.

He didn't want to kill anyone.

"Uh… Ryan?" A voice questioned meekly.

Ryan let out a breath, surprised. He'd almost forgotten Seth was there too. Stupid, he chided himself. He was supposed to be watching out for Seth.

Still keeping the small handgun aimed, Ryan shot a glance to the side.

About seven feet away, Seth was also on the floor, only Chris was standing over him, a gun to Seth's head.

He swallowed. _Seth_.

"Put the gun down" Ryan snapped angrily at Chris.

Chris eyed him warily, "You first"

Ryan looked back to Paul, "Why, so you can kill us both after?"

Chris snorted, "I didn't want to kill anyone until you guys tried killing us."

"No, you just wanted to rob a store with a couple guns"

"Shut the fuck up. Put the gun down or I'll fucking shoot him, I swear!"

Ryan glanced over quickly at Seth, whose face was pale and drawn.

Of course it was, he had a gun to his head. Because of Ryan.

"You let him go, and I'll give you the gun" Ryan said.

"Yeah. Right. I'll believe that one" Chris shot back snidely.

"You can hold the gun to my head. Seth will leave, he won't cause any trouble"

There was silence for a moment.

"Seth. You'll leave, right?" Ryan filled the silence, darting his eyes back and forth between Paul and Seth.

Seth didn't answer.

"Seth!"

Seth looked over at Ryan then, meeting his eyes. Ryan couldn't look away.

Something hit him from the side, knocking him back to the floor. His right hand hit the floor hard, but he managed to keep the gun in his grasp, even as his temple slammed in to the tile floor.

Through spotted eyes he could see Seth throw himself towards Chris once more, this time hitting the man at the knees. Both bodies feel to the floor, and Ryan heard the sound of a scattering gun.

He felt a hand wrap around his wrist then, slamming his hand in to the floor. Automatically Ryan opened his hand, releasing the gun.

As the person on top of him shifted Ryan drew in a sharp breath of air, pain lacing through his chest once more.

"Stop fighting" a voice commanded. It took a moment for Ryan to register it wasn't the voice of Paul.

With his face pressed to the floor, and someone kneeling on his back, Ryan didn't have the best view of what the hell was going on. At least, until he felt cold metal against his wrists.

Handcuffs.

"I didn't do anything –" Ryan began to protest, still wincing in pain.

"That's what they all say" the voice from above him spoke. Ryan looked across the store, able to see that Seth and Chris had been broken up as well, both were being pinned to the floor and handcuffed as well.

"What the hell –" Seth's voice was asking loudly.

"It's just a precaution, until we are able to verify who the perpetrators are. Protocol. Don't' worry kid, if you didn't do anything, you don't need to worry."

"The black ski masks don't tip you off to stuff like that?" Seth shot out angrily.

Ryan snorted in laughter, stopping when the cold metal cuffs bit in to his wrists. On the other hand, the weight on his back now released, and he could breath again.

"This one's pretty beat up" a voice from over Ryan spoke.

The officer holding Seth down stood up, glancing over to Ryan.

"Ryan? Ry, are they talking about you?" Seth questioned, struggling to try and see Ryan from the position he was placed in.

"Hey. Don't move!" the cop snapped. Seth froze on command, then relaxed, "My dad is going to have your skins for this…" he began ranting.

"Standard protocol. It's for the protection of everyone" the cop replied.

………………………………

Standard protocol took nearly thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes the four of them lay on the floor in handcuffs, until the videos were played, and replayed. Until witness statements were made.

Until Sandy managed to break through the uniformed barrier that kept him and Kirsten from their children.

Ryan had actually been seated in a police car, when Sandy found him.

"Ryan? What is he doing in there?" Sandy had demanded, ignoring the police officer that was attempting to pull him away from the car.

"Sir, please step back behind the police tape –"

"That's my son! And I want to know what the _Hell_ is going on! Why is he in handcuffs? From what Seth says he should be at the hospital!"

"Your son? Mr. Atwood?"

"Sandy Cohen. Ryan's foster father. Now get him out of the car, now, before I file against the department!"

Ryan watched the exchange from the police car, catching the few words that were being bellowed. It was no more than thirty seconds later, Ryan was being released from the police car, and handcuffs, and led to a waiting ambulance.

Sandy was following, still angry with the officer who was trying to explain that "Because of Ryan's past record and protocol, he had been detained as a precaution to the public.

Sandy's retort was not friendly, nor quiet.

In fact, Ryan was positive it had been solely Sandy's voice that had lead Kirsten and Seth to find them at the back of the ambulance.

Ryan, sitting on the gurney refusing the paramedics instructions to lay down, saw Seth's bobbing head emerge from the crowd first.

Two butterfly bandages were stretched across Seth's face, but aside from that he didn't seem to be too injured.

"Ryan" Seth breathed, making a beeline to the ambulance, while Kirsten paused beside Sandy to find out what was going on.

"Dude, where have you been? It's like, crazy here! The whole city came to watch!"

Ryan smiled wryly, more relaxed now. Seth appeared unharmed.

"You okay?" He asked Seth.

Seth nodded, but held a finger to his lips, "I'm going to play up the sore muscles for the girls, so keep it quiet, okay?"

Ryan grinned and shook his head slowly.

"Son, you really should lay down so we can take a look at you –"

"What's wrong with him?" Seth demanded.

"Nothing" Ryan replied at the same time the EMT spoke.

"If he'd co-operate, we might be able to tell"

It was Seth's turn to smile, "This one's not too co-operative, I offer you my apology for him… but really…. You should probably feel lucky, I mean, he hasn't attacked you yet, has he?" Seth smiled brightly.

The EMT's shot Seth a look, then glanced quickly back at Ryan, who shrugged.

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A/N: Sorry if there were a lot of typos, haven't had time to proof it and I was really tired when I wrote this chapter...

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